UK TV frequencies map - channel C34 (578.0MHz)

I am having problems with Freeview despite being near the Redruth transmitter, pointing the aerial that way only gives me a few channels.

Caradon Hill works better (despite being further away) but the signal deteriorates when it rains.

Recently I have lost all the channels broadcast on channel 34 (BB1, BBC2, BBC3.) and cannot retrieve the signal despite the fact that this is the most powerful transmission.

We have a long way to go before we finally get reliable television, I also have to have two DVD players because these are regionalised as well (Zone 1, zone 2 etc.)

It will be great if a manufacturer comes up with a device that would receive all freeview TV channels and play all the DVD's we purchase from the Internet. With differing HD formats still to arrive I will have to be patient and see what TV I can on a hotchpotch of equipment until the technology has finally caught up with the consumer.

Nick: the power of the signal received by your aerial depends on the power of the transmitter divided by the distance you are from it SQUARED, so it is often the case that you can receive a better signal from a more distant transmitter. The Redruth and Caradon Hill transmitters will have much more powerful digital broadcasts once the switchover happens, which is planned for July 2009 for these transmitters. The regionlization of DVD players is to support different pricing structures for the film studios in different regions, ie to prevent people buying DVDs from abroad on the internet. I agree that no-one in their right mind is going to buy HD DVDs in either format until a common standard is agreed. Without your exact postcode it is difficult to suggest what the problems with C34 are, but I would ensure that you have no RF-output equipment (Sky Digibox, VCR, game console) that is using C34, and that you do the following procedure with your Freeview box: 1) unplug your Freeview box;

2) unplug the aerial from the Freeview box;

3) wait 30 seconds;

4) plug Freeview mains back in;

5) do a complete scan for channels - it will fail without the aerial;

6) reinsert aerial;

7) do a complete scan for channels again.

What a great site this is.

Mux 2 (Ch34 578mhz) Storeton has declined over the past couple of months for some reason to the extent that two of my tuners can no longer detect any sufficient ITV etc quality. My Hummy PVR 8000T is hanging in there thanks to its sensitive tuner but it frequently breaks up. Any news as to what may have caused this degradation and if it is likley to be corrected soon? (map)

Dave Harrington: You might need to call ITV to let them know on 0121-634 4402. The BBC are working on the trasnmitter at the weekend. Freeview on Storeton TV transmitter | ukfree.tv - get free UK television

Why can I no longer recieve C34 when a month or so ago I had perfect reception. I have a Low Gain Aerial and a mast head amp which is linked into a Distrubution amp. I used recieve 99% signal strength now I get BBC channel, well all excepy C34? Any ideas??? (map)

Neil: Please see Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent digital TV and switchover advice

why does the setanta chanell not come on sometimes ,,the card is up to date but no picture

romee: You probably have problems with Multiplex A reception, can you see this page for some suggestions? Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover advice, since 2002

Hi
The page makes a decision based on my postcode (PL12 4PT) that I should be using the Plympton repeater. However, we are on the backside of a hill here, which means that only Caradon signals are receivable. Is there a way I can tweak the page to show my reception from Caradon. I ant to buy an aerial, but I don't know whether a benchmark 2 is good enough.
Thanks (map)

Can I get ESPN via Freeview in Langholm?.
I understand this should be available from the Caldbeck Transmitter but I cant pick up Ch34. It has been suggested that this might be because Langholm is using a local rely transmitter which makes sense but the question remains...can I get it redirecting/changing my ariel or not ?? (map)

brian: You MAY be able to mount an aerial up very high indeed, but the cost may be more than simply getting a Sky subscription and adding ESPN to that. Please see Langholm digital TV transmitter | ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover advice, since 2002 for your local transmitter.

Our problem is when we watch bbc1 local news we get newcastle news and not our local news from leeds even though our ariel is pointing to leeds transmitter.
Thanks

G.Newbold:Mux1 on C34 comes from Bilsdale and carries BBC1 Northeast. Check for channels stored in the 800's for the service from Emley Moor which carries news for Leeds.To store the Emley Moor Muxes in the correct locations do a scan with the aerial unplugged to remove the existing channels,then if manual tuning is possible store channels on C52,C40,C43,C46,C50 and C49.Otherwise start the scan with the aerial unplugged and when it has passed C34 plug the aerial back in before C40 to store the Emley Moor Muxes.

G.Newbould: Try the 800-899 channel range (press CH- from channel 1), you should find the alternative versions there.

I have a Humax PVR.
I use my old analogue TV aerial situated in the loft.
After experimenting with the position it seems to work well.
Using the menu, I can observe the signal strength and picture quality for each receivable channel.
Generally the picture quality is "100%", and the signal strength is "61%".
What signal strength is the minimum acceptable and what is the average strength.
My postal district is SO45 (map)

Nick Hardacre: The signal strength does not really matter (and is not calibrated to anything, so it is largely meaningless), it is the quality that will ensure you can decode the digital multiplexes.

Just to note - there is no such thing as an "analogue aerial", the aerial are the same for digital and analogue reception.

If you can't get all six multiplexes, you should move the aerial to the roof.

Nick Hardacre: The acceptable signal strength is a strength which is within the box's capabilities to handle without introducing too much noise. Set-top boxes, PVRs and TVs have automatic gain control which adjusts the incoming signal to the same level so it can be handled (this is one reason why boosters are mostly pointless, as they replace a very good gain circuit in the box itself with a rubbish one).

As Brian says, it's the quality which is important. I have a Humax PVR-9200T. On that, the quality tends to go in steps of 10%. I would expect that it's the amount of error correction that the box is having to do over a specified time period, where 100% is 'none' and 0% is 'can't recover the signal at all'. It relates to the multiplex as a whole, rather than a specific channel.

Freeview transmissions are sent with redundant information so that errors in reception (caused, for example, by interference) can be detected and corrected by the receiver - this is called Forward Error Correction. However, there's only so much redundant information available.

Techie details below:

The PVR-9200T manual says that the acceptable input range is -35 to -95 dBmV. I would expect that the signal strength meter is calibrated in terms of this range, so 100% is -35 dBmV and 0% is -95dBmV or below. The spec sheet for the PVR-9300T gives a range of -70 to -10 dBm. dBm is relative to 1 mW of power while dBmV is relative to 1 mV of voltage, so the two aren't directly comparable.

What you get at the aerial is dependent on field strength, distance from the transmitter, aerial gain and any obstructions. A field strength estimator program I found suggests that you should get -29.8 dBm at your location if you have a Group A contract Yagi (measured from ATV's aerial tests as 8.5 dBd gain on channel 34) pointed at Rowridge. That's about 68% of the 9300's acceptable input range. Presumably the loft location is knocking a few % off. You might be losing a little in the cabling or due to obstructions in line-of-sight to the transmitter.

Field strength estimator software:
http://www2.rohde-schwarz.com/en/service_and_support/Downloads/Application_Notes/?downid=1479&id=7

Aerials & TV's contract aerial tests:
http://www.aerialsandtv.com/gaincurves.html#Agroups (map)

Mike Dimmick: Thanks for that.

I think the "quality" indicator on the set-top boxes actually indicate the amount of use of the Forward Error Correction (FEC) to recover data, with "100%" being "never" and "0%" being "unrecoverable".